Personal Bubble

I'm sure you have heard the term personal bubble. Some people call it their personal space or personal space bubble. Urban dictionary defines it as the area around a person, aprox. 1 - 2 feet (depending on culture), that you should not enter without their (vebal or non-verbal) permission to do so.  Everyone has one, some people have a wide spread bubble and others are smaller. 

There is a funny thing about personal bubbles that I have learned, the personal bubble seems to be around a persons face. Meaning that if you are not directly in front of their face their personal bubble seems to get smaller or almost non existent. You could try an experiment with a friend and stand face to face and see how close you are comfortable standing keep inching closer and closer. Then try the same experiment but start by standing back to back, I am sure that you will end up standing much closer before you feel uncomfortable. Which if you think about it makes a lot of sense. 

My problem is when I am using a wheelchair I am no longer at face level with most people. Which means they are perfectly comfortable standing squarely in my personal bubble. They will comfortably stand with their rear in my face, while I am twitching and sweating trying to keep myself from poking them to remind them that I am there, they are even comfortable with facing me and because they are looking over me they still feel comfortable, meanwhile I am looking into someone's private area, because its maybe 6 inches from my face. 

The worst area that people are perfectly comfortable popping the personal bubble is in elevators. I will still never understand why people must constantly test the max weight of these dangling boxes of metal. Is it really that hard to see that it's full and wait for the next? Why must we always seem to be trying to break the world record of how many bodies we can cram into an elevator? 

Anyways as I was saying, people are more comfortable within another persons bubble on an elevator. Which when I am using my wheelchair means these strangers would be perfectly happy to sit in my lap just to make this exact elevator, gotta beat that world record right. I am not comfortable enough to say something to these people. I am sure that they would be embarrassed if I actually pointed out what my view of them is and how close that part of them is to my face. I know I would be embarrassed if it were me. 

This is a rather funny blog, but really I would like to remind people of the personal space of others. I know that it happens to others, like children, and shorter people, so please be aware and courteous of everyone's personal space bubble. 

Hmm does the tallest person in the world have a really small personal bubble because no one is ever at their eye level? 

Thanks for stopping by again. Sorry it's been a while I have been in a nasty flare.